The mind-body connection is, without a doubt, essential to our health and well-being, and plenty of science has emerged in recent years to illustrate just how significant it can be. There are a number of great examples, ranging from quantum physics to the placebo effect, that make clear why this topic really needs some serious attention from the medical industry. Unfortunately, the medical industry today is dominated by pharmaceutical companies — a growing concern among many professionals, as a number of cases of scientific fraud have emerged over the decades.
“The medical profession is being bought by the pharmaceutical industry, not only in terms of the practice of medicine, but also in terms of teaching and research. The academic institutions of this country are allowing themselves to be the paid agents of the pharmaceutical industry. I think it’s disgraceful.” – (source)(source) Arnold Seymour Relman (1923-2014), Harvard Professor of Medicine and former Editor-in-Chief of the New England Medical Journal
HEALTHIER HEART
Marriage dramatically lowers the risk of fatal and non-fatal heart attacks in both men and women of all ages. Compared to their partnered peers, single folks face a 58-66% greater risk of cardiac events.
FEWER STROKES
For men, a happy marriage is a buffer against stroke. An Israeli study shows that single guys face a 64% greater risk of fatal stoke than married males do—but only if the unions are sound and supportive.
LESS STRESS
A strong partnership can put the kibosh on cortisol, the body’s stress hormone. In an experiment at the University of Chicago, strongly connected people handled stress better than their single peers did.
BETTER AGING
Want to stay healthy as you get older? Try improving your love life. In a 2013 study, happily married participants reported better health as they aged compared to their peers in less robust unions.
LOWER BLOOD PRESSURE
Another study shows that the blissfully hitched have lower blood pressure than their single counterparts—even those with strong social networks. But unhappily married folks fare the worst of all.
LONGER LIFE
It’s a fact: Married people live longer than their unwedded counterparts. According to the National Health Interview Survey, singletons face a 58% higher risk of mortality in any given year.
FEWER COLDS
Carnegie Mellon researchers have proven that happy, calm people fend off colds and flus more readily than anxious or depressed ones. The takeaway? Positive relationships can help protect against the flu.
SPEEDIER HEALING
When scientists inflicted small blister wounds on couples, the injuries healed almost twice as quickly when the partners interacted with warmth. Arguments and hostility caused a full day’s delay in healing.
MORE CALM
MRI brain scans reveal the rewards of love. The grey matter that governs anxiety is calmer when you’re in a long-term love match. The lively part of a lovebird’s brain? It’s the region that regulates bonding.
LESS PAIN
Love doesn’t hurt after all. Scientists have proven that people consumed with love just don’t have time for the pain. When focused on an image of their beloved, their brains manage discomfort better.
HAPPIER LIFE
Matrimony also buffers against being bummed out—in both the short-term and the long. Researchers have documented a happiness dividend in the year after marriage, and it persists over the years.
JUST FRIENDS
Flying solo right now? Fear not. Scientists have also shown that a strong network of friends, family, neighbors and other important connections boosts the odds of a long, healthy life by 50%.
What Science Is Telling Us About The Heart’s Intuitive Intelligence
The wonderful and brilliant scientists over at the Institute of HeartMath have done some amazing work in shedding light on the science of the heart.
The Institute of HeartMath is an internationally recognized nonprofit research and education organization dedicated to helping people reduce stress, self-regulate emotions, and build energy and resilience for healthy, happy lives. HeartMath tools, technology, and training teach people to rely on the intelligence of their hearts in concert with that of their minds at home, school, work, and play.
A large portion of their research has investigated heart and brain interaction. Researchers have examined how the heart and brain communicate with each other and how that affects our consciousness and the way in which we perceive our world. For example, when a person is feeling really positive emotions like gratitude, love, or appreciation, the heart beats out a certain message. Because the heart beats out the largest electromagnetic field produced in the body, researchers are able to gather significant data from it. According to Rolin McCratey, Ph.D, and Director of Research at the Institute:
Emotional information is actually coded and modulated into these fields. By learning to shift our emotions, we are changing the information coded into the magnetic fields that are radiated by the heart, and that can impact those around us. We are fundamentally and deeply connected with each other and the planet itself.
This is very important work, as again, it shows how the heart plays an important role far beyond what is commonly known. Did you know that your heart emits electromagnetic fields which change according to your emotions? Did you know that the human heart has a magnetic field that can be measured up to several feet away from the human body? Did you know that positive emotions create physiological benefits in your body? Did you know that you can boost your immune system by conjuring up positive emotions? Did you know that negative emotions can create nervous system chaos, and that positive emotions do the complete opposite? Did you know that the heart has a system of neurons which have both short term and long term memory, and that their signals sent to the brain can affect our emotional experiences? Did you know that in fetal development, the heart forms and starts beating before the brain is developed? Did you know that a mother’s brainwaves can synchronize to her baby’s heartbeats? Did you know that the heart sends more information to the brain than vice versa?
This is very significant information, as how you feel can send messages to the brain which can in turn either wreak havoc on your immune system or help strengthen it.[/a]
“The medical profession is being bought by the pharmaceutical industry, not only in terms of the practice of medicine, but also in terms of teaching and research. The academic institutions of this country are allowing themselves to be the paid agents of the pharmaceutical industry. I think it’s disgraceful.” – (source)(source) Arnold Seymour Relman (1923-2014), Harvard Professor of Medicine and former Editor-in-Chief of the New England Medical Journal
HEALTHIER HEART
Marriage dramatically lowers the risk of fatal and non-fatal heart attacks in both men and women of all ages. Compared to their partnered peers, single folks face a 58-66% greater risk of cardiac events.
FEWER STROKES
For men, a happy marriage is a buffer against stroke. An Israeli study shows that single guys face a 64% greater risk of fatal stoke than married males do—but only if the unions are sound and supportive.
LESS STRESS
A strong partnership can put the kibosh on cortisol, the body’s stress hormone. In an experiment at the University of Chicago, strongly connected people handled stress better than their single peers did.
BETTER AGING
Want to stay healthy as you get older? Try improving your love life. In a 2013 study, happily married participants reported better health as they aged compared to their peers in less robust unions.
LOWER BLOOD PRESSURE
Another study shows that the blissfully hitched have lower blood pressure than their single counterparts—even those with strong social networks. But unhappily married folks fare the worst of all.
LONGER LIFE
It’s a fact: Married people live longer than their unwedded counterparts. According to the National Health Interview Survey, singletons face a 58% higher risk of mortality in any given year.
FEWER COLDS
Carnegie Mellon researchers have proven that happy, calm people fend off colds and flus more readily than anxious or depressed ones. The takeaway? Positive relationships can help protect against the flu.
SPEEDIER HEALING
When scientists inflicted small blister wounds on couples, the injuries healed almost twice as quickly when the partners interacted with warmth. Arguments and hostility caused a full day’s delay in healing.
MORE CALM
MRI brain scans reveal the rewards of love. The grey matter that governs anxiety is calmer when you’re in a long-term love match. The lively part of a lovebird’s brain? It’s the region that regulates bonding.
LESS PAIN
Love doesn’t hurt after all. Scientists have proven that people consumed with love just don’t have time for the pain. When focused on an image of their beloved, their brains manage discomfort better.
HAPPIER LIFE
Matrimony also buffers against being bummed out—in both the short-term and the long. Researchers have documented a happiness dividend in the year after marriage, and it persists over the years.
JUST FRIENDS
Flying solo right now? Fear not. Scientists have also shown that a strong network of friends, family, neighbors and other important connections boosts the odds of a long, healthy life by 50%.
What Science Is Telling Us About The Heart’s Intuitive Intelligence
The wonderful and brilliant scientists over at the Institute of HeartMath have done some amazing work in shedding light on the science of the heart.
The Institute of HeartMath is an internationally recognized nonprofit research and education organization dedicated to helping people reduce stress, self-regulate emotions, and build energy and resilience for healthy, happy lives. HeartMath tools, technology, and training teach people to rely on the intelligence of their hearts in concert with that of their minds at home, school, work, and play.
A large portion of their research has investigated heart and brain interaction. Researchers have examined how the heart and brain communicate with each other and how that affects our consciousness and the way in which we perceive our world. For example, when a person is feeling really positive emotions like gratitude, love, or appreciation, the heart beats out a certain message. Because the heart beats out the largest electromagnetic field produced in the body, researchers are able to gather significant data from it. According to Rolin McCratey, Ph.D, and Director of Research at the Institute:
Emotional information is actually coded and modulated into these fields. By learning to shift our emotions, we are changing the information coded into the magnetic fields that are radiated by the heart, and that can impact those around us. We are fundamentally and deeply connected with each other and the planet itself.
This is very important work, as again, it shows how the heart plays an important role far beyond what is commonly known. Did you know that your heart emits electromagnetic fields which change according to your emotions? Did you know that the human heart has a magnetic field that can be measured up to several feet away from the human body? Did you know that positive emotions create physiological benefits in your body? Did you know that you can boost your immune system by conjuring up positive emotions? Did you know that negative emotions can create nervous system chaos, and that positive emotions do the complete opposite? Did you know that the heart has a system of neurons which have both short term and long term memory, and that their signals sent to the brain can affect our emotional experiences? Did you know that in fetal development, the heart forms and starts beating before the brain is developed? Did you know that a mother’s brainwaves can synchronize to her baby’s heartbeats? Did you know that the heart sends more information to the brain than vice versa?
This is very significant information, as how you feel can send messages to the brain which can in turn either wreak havoc on your immune system or help strengthen it.[/a]
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